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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. land — ground
  3. field — for sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tear — from crying
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cap — of ice
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cap — a hat
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — a subject
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — a stone
  16. degree — temperature
  17. land — to come down
  18. field — farmland
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cap — a lid
  21. dip — to sink
  22. rock — music
  23. land — a country
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com